The fast-food chain once known for its babes-in-bikinis ads is now taking its inspiration from one of the most respected movie directors of our time.

Carl's Jr., the 1,630-unit chain that's a corporate cousin to Hardee's, plans to rename its mini-hamburgers in honor of Steven Spielberg, whose latest movie Ready Player One opens Thursday. They will be called SpielBurgers.

Now called the Charbroiled Slider, the mini-burger is one of the cheapest items on the menu at $1.

The new name, announced Monday, will be promoted on social media with no changes to menu boards or in-store signage. The company said it hopes the campaign will catch the film legend's eye.

But before you start imagining a cease-and-desist letter from the man behind E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park and Schindler's List, know that Carl's Jr. has a licensing agreement regarding Ready Player One.

"Carl's Jr. fans are huge movie buffs, so we wanted to pay homage" to Spielberg, said Jeff Jenkins, chief marketing officer for CKE Restaurants Holdings, which owns both Carl's Jr. and Hardee's.

CKE is using imagery from the new video game-themed film on posters and a mini-video.

A Carl's Jr. paper bag is visible in the background of the movie posters, he said.

"We think there's some love there," Jenkins said. "It's an opportunity for us to make some noise around the movie."

Will the etymological play on Spielberg's name be viewed as a dig at his ethnicity? Last March, Uber came under fire when it referred to Jewish staffers as “Jewbers” in an employee resource group. In addition, several years ago, a chain of restaurants in China and a stand-alone eatery in Brooklyn were attacked for the name they shared, Obama Fried Chicken. Some people interpreted it as highlighting a stereotype about African Americans.

Jenkins said he's not expecting flak from the Jewish community — or from gamers, who are known to have an obsessive, rabid subset of fans.

Spielberg does have some restaurant blood. His late mother owned a kosher restaurant in Los Angeles, The Milky Way, for years.

Carl's Jr. is no stranger to outside-the-box marketing. Until last March, the company ran ads featuring scantily-clad women that appealed to the chain's core customers — guys in their teens and 20s.

The SpielBurger shtick is a way to get people talking about the privately-held Franklin, Tenn.-based company, potentially driving up sales, according to experts.

"You're looking for that halo you're going to get from two brands coming together," said Chad Kawalec, president of the L.A.-based branding firm Brand Identity Center. "It’s doing something unexpected that will garner attention, not just from their base audience, but also from the celebrity's brand."

Carl's Jr. has teamed with Hollywood before.

The movies X-Men: Days of Future Past in 2014, Man of Steel in 2013 and The Amazing Spiderman in 2012 were featured in TV commercials. In February, actor Matthew McConaughey began doing voiceovers for Carl's Jr. Charles Esten from the TV show Nashville starred in the ad campaign that unveiled the chain's plan to dump its sexy burger girls. Reality stars Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton each starred in commercials in 2010 and 2005, respectively. And the chain does collectible cups with movie tie-ins.

Charbroiled Sliders launched on Jan. 29 and are available through late April.

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At the "Ready Player One" European premiere Steven Spielberg talked about the 'amazing' audience response since it debuted at South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas. ROUGH CUT (No reporter narration).
Video provided by Reuters
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